These are dark times for rock 'n' roll, brothers and sisters. The chill wind of the zeitgeist has swept in and awarded savage riffs and sussed singers some temporary modicum of cool. In the interim, any number of shallow-hearted Xerox pretenders to some blues/garage/punk-rock throne have snuck through this back door to assail, insult and degrade our beloved noise, until it's little more than a catalog of pouts and poses that amount to zilch.   We need bands willing to claw back the magic and mythology of rock 'n' roll, to give us something we can really sink our teeth into, art that's hot-blooded and literate and impassioned, something deep and tangible that'll stir the spook in our souls. A band like Pittsburgh, PA's Modey Lemon. It would figure that a band like Modey Lemon would hail from the town that gave the world George Romero and Night of the Living Dead. Modey Lemon's songs conjure images of mechanical dinosaurs, cemetaries and the entire universe coming undone.   The Curious City, Modey's third full length, is their strongest and most adventurous release to date. Ten tracks of metal mayhem, psych sickness and all-out rock 'n' roll psychosis. Be afraid.

A mix of guitars, drum machines and genres, Badd Energy - Coco Solid, Sam Moore, Trixie Darko and J.Suave, - kick out motley jams blending stoner-swamp riffs with laid back 808 raps.

A collection of perfect pop rock songs tinged variously with glam, hard rock, and early-light FM elements. You'll actually be happy to get these tunes stuck in your head! Evocative of cherry-sweet ice-cream summer afternoons and neon-bright champagne city nights, Diver Blue is a must for the suckers who didn't know they could make records like this anymore. 4-song EP, first 100 on blue vinyl.

Pharaohs (surprisingly not a surf band, considering their name and proximity to Los Angeles) cover a range of styles on their newest three-track 12-inch for Intercoastal Artists. Epic opener “Manhunter” sounds like the mutant grandchild of no-wave / “Naïve Funk” late-1970s / early-1980s New York City. Think 99 Records, Sleeping Bag or ZE, throw in some Madchester, then tiptoe past Gottsching’s E2-E4, and you’re close. If Arthur Russell (RIP) guested on this track, it wouldn’t be a surprise. The other two cuts are roughly new age, but with one distinction—the filth oozing off the sax on “Nature Lovers” is more shocking and sleazy than any Wolf Eyes track. Of course, shocking in the most serene way possible. That said, either could be a lost backing track to an early Roxy Music album. The only things missing are Bryan Ferry’s voice and Eno’s plummage. File this alongside R&S or Transmat releases, or even Blurt, Pigbag or A Certain Ratio records. More on the nose, listen to this while watching the elevator scene in Drive. Pharaohs feature Alejandro Cohen (co-founder of legendary SoCal radio station / multimedia scenemakers Dublab) and Sam Cooper alongside newest members Diego Herrera (a.k.a. Suzanne Kraft) and Casey Butler (Stellar Rahim). 2013 has already seen a flurry of Pharaohs activity: they garnered high praise for their recently released LP on 100% Silk and 12-inch on ESP, receiving nods from Pitchfork, The Fader, XLR8R, Ad Hoc, and the list continues. Manhunter is by far their furthest step forward. Seriously, these guys are the shit. “Straight acid melt that drips off the disco balls hanging from the smoggy firmament of LA’s crotch” —Impose Magazine “Bunkered between an arrangement of stackable synths, the Pharaohs squad jams workshop-style, an endearing, funky, spirited live-thrive” —100% Silk “Pharaohs plow an unwavering path through the past, taking a route through various strains of dance music that’s unapologetically nostalgist in outlook” —Pitchfork “Blissed-out house music created by robots in the future” —Reliver 

Limited to 3,000 copies worldwide.